We live in a time when elected officalls are freely volunteering admissions of smoking crack as well as boldly declaring their recreational drug use..

Such open admissions of drug use does not equate into a peerceptiopn of drug abuse .Even when such declarations come from those who hold seats of power, the majority of people are increasingly more to forgive than condem.

For example : the publicly pillaryed Marion Barry, L. A. Mayor snaged in a drug sting. some say it was a set-up. Notwithstanding the crucible Mr. Barry suffered from media and pundits he was re-elected after every selacious detail of his being busted was blasted in the court of public opinion. Re-Elected... by mandated numbers

These revelations only support the need for national harm reduction awareness education.

ABSTRACT: It appears to be a time of turbulence within the global drug policy landscape. The historically dominant model of drug prohibition endures, yet a number of alternative models of legalization, decriminalization and regulation are emerging across the world. While critics have asserted that prohibition and the ensuing ‘war on drugs’ lack both an evidence base and legitimacy, reformers are embracing these alternatives as indicators of progressive change. This article, however, argues that such reforms adhere to the same arbitrary notions, moral dogma and fallacious evidence base as their predecessor. As such they represent the ‘metamorphosis of prohibition’, whereby the structure of drug policy changes, yet the underpinning principles remain unchanged. Consequentially, these reforms should not be considered ‘progressive’ as they risk further consolidating the underlying inconsistencies and contradictions that have formed the basis of drug prohibition.

Julian Buchanan's insight:

An article I started with Stu & Tammy before I retired - now published in the BSC Journal - Criminology and Criminal Justice by Sage.

This critical article (what else would you expect!), evidences and illustrates the failures in drug reform discourse to address the underlying issues in the Drug War and suggests current reform could result in Prohibition 2.0

Stop calling me a label. Start calling me a person. When I was 16 I was a person struggling with addiction. Today, I am a person in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs for more than 14 years. That doesn't just sound a bit different -- it feels different.

The results are in and they're not looking good. The FBI released its Uniform Crime Report for 2014 on Monday, revealing nearly 40% of drug-related arrests were for marijuana possession alone. Not for cooking meth in your bathtub. Not for manufacturing or selling marijuana — just for carrying some.

The estimated number of arrests for 2014 was 11,205,833, with nearly 14% or that — or 1,561,231 arrests — accounting for drug abuse violations. The following, therefore, is a rough estimate and comparison of the number of drug-related arrests since 2009. Though overall arrests are trending down, the proportion of drug-related arrests has been steadily rising.

The Center for Legal Social Studies (CELS) recently released a publication, entitled The Impact of Drug Policy on Human Rights, which has shed light upon some of the deep erosions of civil liberties and human rights that have been justified by the War on Drug...

SAN FRANCISCO— The Drug Policy Alliance is applauding CVS/pharmacy for being the first chain pharmacy in California to stock and sell the opiate overdose reversal drug naloxone without a prescription. More than 50 CVS/pharmacy stores in California will make the lifesaving drug available to friends and family members of people at risk of an opiate overdose. This new program is a direct result of the passage of Assemblymember Richard Bloom’s AB 1535, which was co-sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance and the California Pharmacists Association. The bill was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014. The full list of participating pharmacies can be found at www.naloxoneCA.org.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has secretly indicted top officials within and connected to the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales for their alleged involvement in a cocaine trafficking scheme.

Since Colorado voters legalised pot in 2012, prohibition supporters have warned that recreational marijuana will lead to a scourge of “drugged divers” on the state’s roads. They often point out that when the state legalized medical marijuana in 2001, there was a surge in drivers found to have smoked pot. They also point to studies showing that in other states that have legalized pot for medical purposes, we’ve seen an increase in the number of drivers testing positive for the drug who were invol

Julian Buchanan's insight:

Hhhmmm and all that support to demonise drivers who tested positive for the presence of cannabis (probably taken days, weeks or even a month ago), and the portrayal of cannabis users as stupid and irresponsible pot heads:

The U.S.-led war on drugs and U.S.-shaped international drug policies are being scrutinized and debated this month by governments from around the globe as the world’s countries prepare to gather in mid-April for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session, or UNGASS, to review the world’s drug control regime. It is the first such meeting in 18 years.

The good news is that there are signs that American leaders are beginning to question the wisdom of a four decade-old war on drugs that has caused more harm than good. Increasingly, elected officials and the public are condemning laws that marginalize, criminalize and incarcerate millions of U.S. citizens for using drugs – laws that have helped make the U.S. the world’s leading jailer and have caused particular harm to persons and communities of color.

As expected, there was impairment in all areas when alcohol and cannabis were mixed. But cannabis itself, when taken in moderate amounts, seems to cause no significant driving impairment.

Julian Buchanan's insight:

So much money and effort put into drug driving campaigns to reduce fatal accidents - when the real causes largely go under the radar (such as driving while tired, while eating, drinking, texting or telephoning)

The global drug problem violates human rights in five key areas – the right to health, the rights relating to criminal justice and discrimination, the rights of the child and the rights of indigenous peoples, a senior United Nations official said today ....UN’s call on States to consider decriminalizing possession and use of drugs “because criminalization of possession and use has been shown to cause significant obstacles to the right to health.”.

Julian Buchanan's insight:

The Drug War haze is finally beginning to clear, but we need to abolish it completely.

This means under the new law a drug treatment service could supply Naloxone to a hostel manager or outreach worker and they could then administer it in a lifesaving situation. Although the attempt to widen access to Naloxone is welcome, crucially (and somewhat disappointingly) what the new legislation doesn’t do is allow homelessness staff to dispense “take home Naloxone” in the same way treatment services can i.e. to users and carers etc. to use in the event of an overdose. Considering hostel/outreach staff are likely not to be present at the point of overdose, those critical minutes until they are could potentially be lost.

According to the U.S. food and drug administration (FDA), walnuts are drugs which may be subject to a drug-specialized screening process before being allowed onto the market. Well this at least appears to be the case for Diamond Foods, a company started by a small group of Californian... #fda

Study on the impact of the world drug problem on the enjoyment of human rights, and recommendations on respect for and the protection and promotion of human rights in the context of the world drug problem.

Julian Buchanan's insight:

Drug Laws Must be Centred Upon Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Harm Reduction

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